Has Reform managed to win over the City? Politics Reform UK officials hope that its first-ever Business Day paid dividends at its conference. Maurício Alencar reports on a dramatic 72 hours in Birmingham and asks whether industry chiefs are satisfied with what they’ve heard and seen. Asked for an umbrella phrase to describe Reform’s economic philosophy, policy guru Dr James Orr responded that the [...]
Inside Cheese & Peppers, legendary City sandwich shop of 50 years Life&Style Nominated in the ‘Best Sandwich’ category at the Toast Awards, we go inside City institution Cheese & Peppers The Toast Awards are back this October for a second year running, honouring the bars, green spaces, restaurants and cafes that make the Square Mile an incredible place to live and work. Nominated in the ‘Best Sandwich’ [...]
City institution Simpson’s Tavern reborn as British restaurant Life&Style Simpson’s Tavern, the City’s oldest chophouse which closed in 2022, is to reopen later this year as a modern British restaurant. Cloth Cornhill will open on 1 October on the site of the former pub, which first opened in 1757 and was a favourite drinking haunt of Charles Dickens and William Thackeray. A new era [...]
We take a food and drink Odyssey through the Square Mile August 17, 2026 As voting for the Toast the City Awards enters its final week, we sent our wine columnist Libby Brodie on a wine Odyssey through the City’s finest bars and restaurants. Vote for your favourites on our website here. As The Odyssey continues to smash records – it’s now Christopher Nolan’s highest ever grossing film – [...]
Private equity-backed advisory firm acquires specialist music boutique August 14, 2026 Mid-tier accountancy and advisory firm BKL has snapped up a smaller counterpart in its latest acquisition, aiming to strengthen its focus on the music, media, and entertainment sector in London. City-based BKL, which offers tax, accounting, and business advisory services, has snapped up specialist music accountancy firm Dales Evans, as it “continues to expand its [...]
Exclusive: City giants tighten trans policies August 14, 2026 City firms are being forced to tighten up inclusion policies and prevent transgender staff from using single-sex bathrooms, after the equalities watchdog published fresh directions on enforcing the seismic Supreme Court ruling on gender last year. Square Mile giants including Admiral, Coventry Building Society and Santander have all updated their HR procedures to bar trans [...]
The London Stock Exchange is shrinking – but Julia Hoggett is still an optimist August 11, 2026 The London Stock Exchange’s two flagship indexes are trading near all-time highs. But beneath the surface, it has been another testing year for the capital’s bourse. Boss Dame Julia Hoggett tells Ali Lyon what she is doing to disprove the doomsters. In the cavernous foyer of London’s historic stock exchange, a giant cube is flashing [...]
China’s mega London embassy to go ahead after High Court blocks challenge July 31, 2026 Plans for a new Chinese super embassy in central London will go ahead after the High Court blocked a challenge to the controversial site. The Royal Mint Court Residents’ Association (RMCRA) had initiated legal action against the government’s housing department and Tower Hamlets council over concerns the embassy could enforce “draconian” Chinese laws in the [...]
The City has the key that can unlock growth in every postcode July 27, 2026 Growth depends on a stable and competitive tax system, streamlined planning and proportionate regulation and the City will work with the new government to create those conditions, says Chris Hayward Now that the Burnham government is in place, the Prime Minister’s new Cabinet inherits a formidable set of challenges: regional inequality, stretched public finances, sluggish productivity and flatlining living standards. Addressing these challenges will require sustainable growth and unleashing entrepreneurial energy across the country. [...]
Healey: Squeezed businesses also need ‘breathing space’ July 23, 2026 Chancellor John Healey has said he is “just as concerned” by costs facing businesses as those facing households, adding that bosses also required “breathing space” to manage burdens from energy, labour and supply chains. Echoing Andy Burnham’s pledge to provide “breathing space” on the cost of living, Healey said he would aim to ease cost [...]